ADRIAN — Uncertainty is growing in regard to next month’s scheduled trial of an Ypsilanti man charged with abusing a 1-year-old Hudson boy who later died at a Toledo hospital.

Timothy Ryan Martin, 26, was given a Feb. 21 trial date when he was arraigned Nov. 7 in Lenawee County Circuit Court on a charge of first-degree child abuse. A not guilty plea was entered at the arraignment.

A request to adjourn the trial date may be made at a hearing next week if autopsy results are not available, said Lenawee County Prosecutor Burke Castleberry.

“We’ve sent numerous requests down,” Castleberry said. But a final autopsy report has not yet been delivered by the Lucas County, Ohio, coroner’s office. Law enforcement officials last contacted the coroner’s office on Jan. 25, he said.

Martin was arrested shortly after the victim, Leroy Henry Beals, died on Oct. 17 at Children’s Hospital in Toledo. The boy was taken there after an ambulance was called to his Hudson home on Oct. 15.

According to Hudson police, Martin was alone with Beals that night while Beals’ mother, Erin Graham, was at work. Martin had reportedly been living with Graham for a month.

He was unemployed and homeless, according to court documents.

The first-degree child abuse charge could be amended to open murder if autopsy results contain evidence linking Martin to a fatal injury.

There is no admissable evidence on the cause of Beals’ death at this point, Castleberry said Tuesday.

“If we have not received the autopsy by the trial date, we will have to decide whether to proceed with the trial or do something else,” he said.

The defense could also request a delay if an autopsy report is delivered but not available in sufficient time to prepare for trial. Should the charge be amended, Martin would also have a right to a preliminary examination before trial.

Castleberry said a subpoena will soon be issued ordering the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy to testify about the findings, or explain to a judge why a report is not available. Pathologists are normally called to testify and answer questions about their findings.